1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a therapy apparatus for the functional electromyostimulation of smooth muscle cells, especially of the penis and of the urethra and their connective tissue within the human body by meens of which a regeneration of the smooth muscles and thus a functional improvement of the diseased cell connective tissues and organs is achievable.
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention Including Prior Art
In the case of the incidence of e.g. 3 to 4 million men in Germany with chronic erectile dysfunction, there is a great medicinal importance for the principally possible therapeutic options. At the present point of time, the corpus cavernosum autoinjection therapy (CCAT; 1-5), the penis prosthesis implantation (6-8) or the use of a vacuum system form the cornerstones of the therapy of organogenic erectile dysfunction.
However, because of the absence of spontaneity, of possible side effects or af the non-physiological manner of working, many patients refuse these treatment alternatives from the onset, Furthermore, high drop-out rates or a considerable number of dissatisified users are to be ascertained in the long-term observation (5). As alternative, for these patients there is only available the reconstructive penile blood vessel surgery (9, 10) which, however, only comes into question for selected patients because of the complex aetiology of the erectile dysfunction.
In recent electron microscopic studies, it could be shown that, in the case of many patients, a degeneration of the cavernous smooth muscles is present as cause of the erectile dysfunction (11-13). In the case of these patients, as therapy possibilities only the prosthetic provision of the vecuum aid comes into question. Possibilities of the regeneration of these cavernous smooth muscle cells which make possible substantially more therapeutic options for the affected patients are, however, hitherto not known.
In the case of patients in the case of which, because of a temporary inactivation of the skeletal musculature, e.g. by application of a plaster in the case of fractures, or of the temporary lesion of muscle-innervating nerves after accidents or operations, it results in an atrophy of the musculature with the known disadvantageous results, for the evoidance of this atrophy during the resting or lesion phase, transcutaneous stimulation current can be applied. This process represents a standard method (14-17) in the treatment or prophylaxis of atrophies of the skeletal or striated musculature.
Because of the poor accessibility of the organs consisting of smooth muscle cells (e.g. oesophagus, uterus, urethra, urinary bladder), the thereby poor delimitation from other organs and the fundamentally different stimulation of the smooth muscle cells in contradistinction to striated muscle cells, no possibilities exist to influence these organs by means of transcutaneously applied current.